In a new one-pager C. J. Polychroniou illustrates how dire the situation in Euroland is becoming, running briefly through the outlooks for Greece, Portugal and Ireland, Italy and Spain, Belgium, France, and Germany. From his entry on Italy and Spain (emphasis mine):

Both nations are currently engulfed in debt flames (in spite of the fact that Spain does not have a public-finance crisis, as its debt-to GDP ratio is just slightly over 60 percent and lower than that of Germany and France, while Italy, at only 4.6 percent of GDP, runs one of the lowest budget deficits in the EU) and being administered the usual neoliberal medication (a sure way to worsen their condition!).

Earth banishment, eh? Hmmm. Pesky civil liberties issues aside, this sounds like a great public works proposal (construction of the Moon colony alone could put a serious dent in the unemployment rate).

Ha! Now would probably be a bad time for me to admit I am a card-carrying ACLU member.

One economist recently noted that perhaps our only hope for economic revival is if Russia were to ramp up its saber-rattling toward the US. Then, practically every member of Congress would call for “a massive raise in defense spending! To arms! To arms!”